About: Our popular chain offers a variety of frozen treats including its famous Italian Ice, made fresh daily with real fruit, available in over sixty-five flavors, Old-Fashioned Frozen Custard, Milkshakes, Sundaes with Unlimited Toppings, Light Custard, Frozen Custard Cakes, Custard Cookie Sandwiches made with OREO®, layered Gelati as well as its signature Misto® and Blendini® creations. Since 1984, “Ice, Custard, Happiness,” has been the brand’s motto, and almost thirty years later, Rita’s is still dedicated to serving up a big dose of happiness with their freshly made, delicious, custom treats, in a fun-filled atmosphere. (Source: Rita’s Italian Ice on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitasItalianIceCompany/info)

The ambiance: You know, it’s like an ice cream shop, except you can get Italian Ice and custard, which is just that much closer to God.

Image courtesy franchiseexpo.com

The Munch: A friend mentioned Rita’s once to me, so when went made our trek to Pizzeria Limone and I saw it just right there, I decided I’d need to try it out with Mom. After all, Italian ice sounded intriguing, and who doesn’t love frozen custard. I ordered:

Gelati: Juicy Pear topped with Chocolate Custard

I know, the bright green and brown are kind of an off-putting color combination.

Mom said it was weird that I ordered Juicy Pear with Chocolate, and it’s probably not for everyone, but I think that’s an underused flavor combination. The Gelati is one of several different iterations of Italian Ice and/or Custard you can order at Rita’s, and it’s just ice with custard on top, giving you the best of both worlds. The ice flavors vary from day to day, but the custard flavors are pretty constant, and they are: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and orange cream (at this particular location).

The Italian ice is somewhere in between a Sno-Cone and Hawaiian Shaved Ice, and it’s AWESOME. I loved the flavor and texture, and then when you combined it with a spoonful of thick, creamy, indulgent frozen custard … mmm. I want to go there right now, but it’s Sunday and 1. I don’t patronize businesses on Sundays and 2. it’s not open anyhow.

The bill: ~$4 – $4.50. This was another Mom treat, so I’m unsure about the exact cost, but I don’t recall looking at the menu board and thinking, “Whoa that’s expensive.” Plus they have a punch card system (it’s an app, and a brilliant one at that), so after eight purchases, you get one free.

Total score: 8/10 — I wish there were more frozen custard flavors, but the Italian ice flavors are plentiful (and creative), so that makes up for it. I’ll definitely be hitting Rita’s up regularly during the summer months!

About: A dream that started in our home kitchen turned into Cupcake Chic. Originally a cupcakery, we have added cakes, cookies, bon bons and other treats to our gourmet treat menu. So, stop by and get something great to eat. Source: Cupcake Chic website, http://www.cupcakechicutah.com/aboutUs.html

The ambiance: It’s small and bright, with exceptionally clean glass cases featuring all of their delicious goodies. They have a few seats, but this is more of a grab and go type of place, which is probably for the better since you will feel compelled to buy one of everything and eat it at home in your stretchy pants.

The Munch: If you yourself don’t have incredible self-discipline, you’ll need to take someone with you who does. In my case, it was Husband, who despite my pleadings wouldn’t give in to our each getting one treat for the evening. I knew I didn’t want anything gluten-free because I don’t have celiac, and I was pretty certain I didn’t want a sugar cookie since they’re particularly known for their cupcakes, but narrowing it down to one flavor was extremely taxing. Husband, on the other hand, walked in, glanced around, and knew precisely what to get himself. We ordered:

The Classic cupcake

S’mores bar

I really dislike dense cupcakes, and that’s what I’ve tended to find in Utah county. So when I bit into my Hostess-themed cake and was met with a deliciously fine crumb, I was very pleased. The cake and frosting were both made with high quality chocolate (the frosting was actually ganache, so ’nuff said), but they weren’t so dark that they were bitter. Nor were they cloying — they were perfectly chocolate. And inside the center, rather than an ambiguous white “cream,” they had piped in their homemade marshmallow creme, which was divine.

Husband raved about that s’mores bar for days. As he was eating it, he kept remarking how delicious it was, when he finished it, he remarked at how delicious it was, and I’m not sure a day has gone by that he hasn’t brought it up in casual conversation. The bar part was made with graham cracker crumbs but was soft like a cookie (and not crumbly or messy), the chocolate spread tasted like a big melted Hershey bar, and the marshmallow creme on top was just as divine as in the Classic cupcake. Though rich, it was definitely finishable, and it wasn’t cloying.

We agreed (more or less — I brought up this idea, and he didn’t say no) to buying a treat from Cupcake Chic every week because it seemed like the right thing to do.

The bill: $5.12, plus a free punch because I missed the free birthday cupcake sign-up and it was my birthday week. I like that kid a lot. And that total? For two delicious, gourmet homemade treats? They’re practically giving it away.